February is a month that can often be punctuated by celebration and fun. It is Black History Month, and also has several days of celebration. Groundhog’s Day provides a chance for us to start thinking about the end of winter. Valentine’s Day provides an occasion to share some love with others. President’s Day, a federal holiday, provides many with an opportunity to recognize the contributions of our country’s leaders and a three day weekend. There are many other special days in February, including Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Day and RAK Week, and these remind us of the need to extend kindness to ourselves and to others. For this reason, our February Well-Being Challenge is to engage in random acts of kindness! We challenge you to engage in random acts of kindness every day this month. You will soon find out (or be reminded of) what sharing kindness with others can do for you.

Being kind is good for you! Research suggests that kindness leads to increases in happiness, energy, and pleasure. It is also linked to decreases in anxiety, depression, and stress. It has even been linked to lower blood pressure, and can actually lead to a longer life. So, add random acts of kindness to your daily routine today!

We challenge you to join us as we work to increase shared kindness in our community this month. Acts of kindness can be small or large, made in private or public, with your friends and family or with strangers. Consider these or other ideas:

Smiling at a stranger

Baking treats for someone

Making a personal playlist for a friend

Sending flowers

Cleaning up someone else’s mess

Holding the door open for others

Sending a note of gratitude

Picking up trash

Doing someone’s chores

Inviting someone to eat with you

Leaving notes of encouragement

Being kind to yourself

Add acts of kindness to your everyday life. This will give you a chance to improve your overall sense of well-being while growing kindness in your community – positively impacting you and those around you. Happy February to you all! Have fun with this and have a great month!

Course SelectionCourse selection will begin on January 29th for grades 8-11 and on January 31st for 7th grade students. Counselors will be going into every history class between Jan. 29th and Feb. 1st to give presentations on available courses for next school year. Students will complete most of their schedule on those days, however, they will need to add a few electives and talk about their schedule with their parents. Once they have completed all their required schedule requests, students will need to print out their requests and receive signatures on the bottom from their parents and current math teacher. Once they have received all their signatures, they can turn their handout into their 1st period teacher during 7th hour. The due date for the signature handout will be February 14th. This allows students to have two weeks to choose courses for next semester and receive signatures. If you have any questions, please come see your counselor.

We Are Looking for Candy Donations!As a counseling department we try to make our activities fun and relaxing for students at the end of the day. One of the ways we do this is by engaging them in activities and conversation with prizes to be given away. The most common and fan favorite of prizes is candy. Unfortunately, with the counseling budget candy and other treats are hard to come by. We are looking for candy bag donations for this upcoming school year. After a long day of working in the classroom we want to provide the students with a treat before they leave for the day. We would greatly appreciate any type of candy bag donation. If you can help support our program please drop any candy you have to donate off in the counseling office with Sue Brown, or any counselor available. We want to thank every single one of you for your support!

AP Class MeetingsAre you thinking about taking an AP class next school year? You WILL NEED to attend the AP meeting for that course to be able to take that course next year. The schedule for AP meetings is on the D’Evelyn Counseling website on the homepage. These meetings will share with students what is expected of them in the class and provide them with information on summer coursework. If you are unable to attend the meeting for the class you would like to take, you need to talk to a teacher in the same department to find out more information about that class. If you have questions or concerns about the meetings, please stop by counseling so we can assist you.

Summer ProgramsOne of the best ways for students to stand out on college applications is to participate in summer programs offered by universities around the country. Most major universities and colleges offer some form of a summer program. There are programs that are only a week or two long, and they provide students a small glimpse into college life, students attend seminars, participate in research activities, and engage in hands on activities. There are other programs that act as a college summer course where students earn college credit by attending classes and completing course work. These programs are typically offered for 9th-11th grade students, however, there have been some programs that offer experiences for Junior High students as well. This is a great way for students to explore colleges, start to discover their interests, and get a taste of college course work. Under the “Helpful Links” section on the D’Evelyn Counseling website there is a link for Summer Programs. This section will have a list of the programs that send information to D’Evelyn and from around the area. You can also research to see if the university or college you want to go to has summer programs by exploring their websites. If you have more questions come stop by the counseling office.

SENIORSFAFSA CompletionAre you a senior looking to attend a 2- or 4-year institution? Then you should be filling out your FAFSA! There are a lot of misconceptions about the FAFSA and many reasons why families elect to not fill it out. The biggest myth about filling out the FAFSA is: My family makes too much money for me to receive any aid. Regardless of family income or any other reason you can think of to not complete the FAFSA, here are some reasons why you should.

Most schools require students to complete the FAFSA to receive any type of merit-based aid, scholarships, or to participate in work study through their institution.

Most scholarships require that students complete the FAFSA to be eligible for the award.

Students can be awarded financial assistance based on multiple reasons outside of family income.

You can always appeal to receive more assistance if you have already applied.

You will be given the opportunity to negotiate with your chosen institution about the amount of funding you will be receiving.

There are many more reasons why families should apply for the FAFSA. The FAFSA is completely free to apply for, and the government has improved the process over the years. For more answers and reasons to apply please visit studentaid.ed.gov. Applying for the FAFSA can be scary at first, however, the pros outweigh the cons when we look at the end results. By applying you are NOT automatically accepting federal loans. You still must accept the offer and you can work with your school on the amount that you believe you need. All the FAFSA states is how much you are eligible to receive. You get the final say in what you receive. There are other resources to assist you in the completion process if you have questions. We have heard from the community that the Princeton Review book “How to Navigate the FAFSA” can be a wonderful resource for families who are struggling working through the process. We encourage families with students anywhere from 7-12th grades to begin looking at this process. The sooner you start and the more you learn will help make the process easier and less intimidating.

Scholarship WorkshopAre you stressing about how to pay for college? Starting in the Spring semester we will be hosting scholarship workshops for students. We have arranged 4 dates throughout the semester during 7th hours to have students come down and explore scholarships. We will provide you with multiple data bases to look at, and help you narrow down options. The remaining dates for our second semester meetings are as followed: 2/25, 3/11, and 4/1. If you are looking for help on where to look, how to apply, or just want some peace and quiet to complete an application come down to counseling on those dates!

JUNIORSSAT InformationThe SAT is right around the corner with the test taking place at school on April 9th. These next few months will fly by, and the test will be here before we know it. There are some important pieces of information we want to share with you all leading up to the exam. The state of Colorado pays for all juniors to take the SAT on April 9th, so the test is completely free! We highly recommend all juniors to take the test even if they have already taken the SAT and they are pleased with their score. Students will also have the option to take the SAT with the Essay on April 9th. For the students who want to take the SAT with Essay, they need to login to the College Board website and sign up for the essay ON THEIR OWN. If you do not sign up for the essay on your own, and you want to take the SAT with Essay we will not have a test for you. If you have any questions about how to do this, please reach out to your counselor or call College Board at 1-866-917-9030. The registration window for the SAT with Essay is from January 15th to February 12th.

D'Evelyn will also be hosting a SAT Prep course in partnership with College Drive. This SAT Prep course will meet every Tuesday for four weeks at D’Evelyn starting on February 26th. The course will be from 1:45 – 3:15pm on 2/26, 3/5, 3/12, and 3/19. The total price for the course is $129. We have a new instructor for this course, and this can be a great way for students to gain more information about the exam. We have flyers posted around the school and in the counseling office. If you would like to register for this course, please call 720-496-2244.

We also recommend that students begin preparing for the SAT by utilizing all the free resources that are available to them. Khan Academy is a company that has paired with College Board (creators of the SAT) to provide free individualized practice for all students. This is a great tool for students to use in their preparation for the exam. There are multiple test prep companies that students can utilize where they can receive group help, individualized tutoring, or online practice. On the counseling website there is a link for our SAT/ACT page, which provides more information and resources for families. Please contact counseling with any questions.

College VisitsJuniors, it is about that time to really start vamping up your college preparation. One of the best ways to help you discover which college experience will be best for you is to start visiting campuses that you are interested in. Experts say that visiting a college is one of the top factors in discovering the right fit. With spring semester upon us, and the final semester before you start applying for college this is one of the best times to tour college campuses. Whether you want to stay in state or travel to the coasts, we highly recommend that you visit the campuses you are interested in. You can sign up for a structured visit with a tour guide or go and explore the campus on your own.

SOPHOMORESICAP and College IntroductionWhen we returned from winter break we met with you all as a big group on January 9th based on your last name to complete the district required ICAP. The purpose of this ICAP was to help support you in your continuing exploration of careers, and to help you generate a plan to reach your future goals. We wanted you to begin to consider life after high school and what steps you need to take to reach your end goal. We also introduced you to the college search process, so you have the foundation to begin looking at schools you are interested in attending. We are very excited to work with you all again and hear about all the great ideas you have! If you have questions or were absent, please come down to counseling!

FRESHMENCourse Selection and ICAPAt the end of January, we will be coming into your History classes to go over your course selection for next year! On this day we will talk about the courses you will need to take your sophomore year and introduce the possible electives you can take. Once we complete the course selection we will also complete your required district ICAP. This ICAP will help you outline the steps you need to take over the next few years to graduate on time. You will be setting goals, choosing careers that interest you, and other taking a deeper look into what you need to do to reach your goals.

FOR ALLCourse SelectionCourse selection will begin on January 29th for grades 8-11 and on January 31st for 7th grade students. Counselors will be going into every history class between Jan. 29th and Feb. 1st to give presentations on available courses for next school year. Students will complete the majority of their schedule on those days, however, they will need to add a few electives and talk about their schedule with their parents. Once they have completed all of their required schedule requests, students will need to print out their requests and receive signatures on the bottom from their parents and current math teacher. Once they have received all of their signatures, they can turn their handout into their 1st period teacher during 7th hour. The due date for the signature handout will be February 14th. This allows students to have two weeks to choose courses for next semester and receive signatures. If you have any questions please come see your counselor.

AP Class MeetingsAre you thinking about taking an AP class next school year? You WILL NEED to attend the AP meeting for that course to be able to take that course next year. The schedule for AP meetings is on the D’Evelyn Counseling website on the homepage. These meetings will share with students what is expected of them in the class and provide them with information on summer coursework. If you are unable to attend the meeting for the class you would like to take, you need to talk to a teacher in the same department to find out more information about that class. If you have questions or concerns about the meetings please stop by counseling so we can assist you.

Summer ProgramsOne of the best ways for students to stand out on college applications is to participate in summer programs offered by universities around the country. The majority of major universities and colleges offer some form of a summer program. There are programs that are only a week or two long, and they provide students a small glimpse into college life, students attend seminars, participate in research activities, and engage in hands on activities. There are other programs that act as a college summer course where students earn college credit by attending classes and completing course work. These programs are typically offered for 9th-11th grade students, however, there have been some programs that offer experiences for Junior High students as well. This is a great way for students to explore colleges, start to discover their interests, and get a taste of college course work. Under the “Helpful Links” section on the D’Evelyn Counseling website there is a link for Summer Programs. This section will have a list of the programs that send information to D’Evelyn and from around the area. You can also research to see if the university or college you want to go to has summer programs by exploring their websites. If you have more questions come stop by the counseling office.

SENIORSScholarship WorkshopAre you stressing about how to pay for college? Starting in the Spring semester we will be hosting scholarship workshops for students. We have arranged 4 dates throughout the semester during 7th hours to have students come down and explore scholarships. We will provide you with multiple data bases to look at, and help you narrow down options. The remaining dates for our second semester meetings are as followed: 1/22, 2/25, 3/11, and 4/1. If you are looking for help on where to look, how to apply, or just want some peace and quiet to complete an application come down to counseling on those dates!

ICAP and Scholarship Class MeetingOn Wednesday January 10th we met with you to complete your district required ICAP. We touched on some last minute college information, and introducing you to financial aid information. We had you all sign up for the COF (Colorado Opportunity Fund), which helps give students from the state of Colorado a discount to attend in-state schools. To sign up needed your social security number, so make sure you know that or have it with you if you need to complete it at home! We also had a guest from the DEF to share information about scholarships that pertain directly to all of you! This was a very informative meeting on paying for college so if you have questions please stop by counseling to get some answers.

JUNIORSSAT InformationThe SAT is right around the corner with the test taking place at school on April 9th. These next few months will fly by, and the test will be here before we know it. There are some important pieces of information we want to share with you all leading up to the exam. The state of Colorado pays for all juniors to take the SAT on April 9th, so the test is completely free! We highly recommend all juniors to take the test even if they have already taken the SAT and they are pleased with their score. Students will also have the option to take the SAT with the Essay on April 9th. For the students who want to take the SAT with Essay, they need to login to the College Board website and sign up for the essay ON THEIR OWN. If you do not sign up for the essay on your own, and you want to take the SAT with Essay we will not have a test for you. If you have any questions about how to do this please reach out to your counselor or call College Board at 1-866-917-9030. The registration window for the SAT with Essay is from January 15th to February 12th.

D'Evelyn will also be hosting a SAT Prep course in partnership with College Drive. This SAT Prep course will meet every Tuesday for four weeks at D’Evelyn starting on February 26th. The course will be from 1:45 – 3:15pm on 2/26, 3/5, 3/12, and 3/19. The total price for the course is $129. We have a new instructor for this course, and this can be a great way for students to gain more information about the exam. We have flyers posted around the school and in the counseling office. If you would like to register for this course please call 720-496-2244.

We also recommend that students begin preparing for the SAT by utilizing all of the free resources that are available to them. Khan Academy is a company that has paired with College Board (creators of the SAT) to provide free individualized practice for all students. This is a great tool for students to use in their preparation for the exam. There are multiple test prep companies that students can utilize where they can receive group help, individualized tutoring, or online practice. On the counseling website there is a link for our SAT/ACT page, which provides more information and resources for families. Please contact counseling with any questions.

ICAP and College IntroductionWhen we returned from winter break we started off the ICAP season with you! On January 11th we met with you during 7th hour to complete the district required ICAP. This meeting is targeted what you are doing to reach your goals after high school. We looked at what careers you are considering, and what steps you will take to prepare for those careers. We also introduced you to college search engines, and helped you take the steps you need to start deciding which colleges you want to apply to.

College VisitsJuniors, it is about that time to really start vamping up your college preparation. One of the best ways to help you discover which college experience will be best for you is to start visiting campuses that you are interested in. Experts say that visiting a college is one of the top factors in discovering the right fit. With spring semester upon us, and the final semester before you start applying for college this is one of the best times to tour college campuses. Whether you want to stay in state or travel to the coasts, we highly recommend that you visit the campuses you are interested in. You can sign up for a structured visit with a tour guide, or go and explore the campus on your own.

SOPHOMORESICAP and College IntroductionWhen we returned from winter break we met with you all as a big group on January 9th based on your last name to complete the district required ICAP. The purpose of this ICAP was to help support you in your continuing exploration of careers, and to help you generate a plan to reach your future goals. We wanted you to begin to consider life after high school and what steps you need to take to reach your end goal. We also introduced you to the college search process so you have the foundation to begin looking at schools you are interested in attending. We are very excited to work with you all again, and hear about all of the great ideas you have! If you have questions or were absent please come down to counseling!

FRESHMENCourse Selection and ICAPAt the end of January we will be coming into your History classes to go over your course selection for next year! On this day we will talk about the courses you will need to take your sophomore year, and introduce the possible electives you can take. Once we complete the course selection we will also complete your required district ICAP. This ICAP will help you outline the steps you need to take over the next few years to graduate on time. You will be setting goals, choosing careers that interest you, and other taking a deeper look into what you need to do to reach your goals.